In the play, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, money plays an essential role in character development. The play is set in the South Side of Chicago in the late 1950s. Raisin follows the lives of a poor, urban, African-American family, the Youngers, during this period of heightened racial tension in the United States. The story begins after the death of the patriarch of the family, Mr. Younger. With his death comes a $10,000 check representing the proceeds of his life insurance policy. Since the remaining Younger family members hold differing views about the role of money, their household is nearly torn apart from conflict over what to do with the $10,000 windfall. Specifically, Mama, her adult son Walter, and her 20-year-old daughter Beneatha, have singular agendas about how best to spend that check. Each of these characters initially allows that money to psychologically entrap them, with ruinous potential consequences. Ultimately, it is only by removing money’s power to control them, that these family members are liberated from detrimental mindsets and able to constructively transform themselves.
Lena Younger, also known as Mama, and the eldest member of the Younger family, is a dominant figure in her multigenerational household. At the beginning of the play, Mama serves as the head of the household even though as a traditionalist, she believes the eldest adult male should act in this capacity. Mama for most of the play, appears reluctant to trust her adult son
“A Raisin In The Sun” is a play in which Lorraine Hansberry, the author, shows on how money can have a major effect on many people’s lives. Walter, the main character, experiences on how the theme Money and Mortality has affected his own life. In the play “A Raisin In The Sun” Lorraine Hansberry uses certain characters to show the theme Money and Mortality, such as Walter, Beneatha and Mama.
In English drama, a domestic tragedy is defined as a tragedy in which the tragic protagonist is ordinary middle-class or lower class individuals. The definition I will use is the event of great suffering, destruction, and distress that occurs to the protagonist or tragic hero. A Raisin in the Sun falls under domestic tragedy with the status and circumstances that the poor African American family with the constant struggle versus social roles and white America. Throughout the play, the Younger family has many hardships and difficult decisions come up. Hamlet would not fall under a domestic tragedy with the family being of kingly ranks as well as their downfall and personal matters. In A Raisin in the Sun, Walter Younger is a tragic
The play ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ by ‘Lorraine Hansberry’ is about a matriarchy, Lena Younger or known as “Mama” to her family the Youngers who are poverty stricken family. She is about to receive insurance money from her husband’s life insurance policy, which is rightfully hers. However each member of the Youngers family we come into contact with have a plan to use the money for themselves, each individual’s through-line plays a vital role in their dreams, thoughts and choices in the end. Throughout the play the family have experiences that money can’t buy happiness and the effects of racial prejudice emerge.
The drama A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, shows the life of the Youngers, an African-American family living on the Southside of Chicago in the 1950s. In the beginning, the Youngers are about to receive an insurance check for $10,000. This money comes from the deceased Mr. Younger’s life insurance policy. Each of the adult members of the family has an idea as to what he or she would like to do with this money. Mama, wants to buy a house to fulfill a dream she shared with her husband. Mama’s son, Walter Lee, would rather use the money to invest in a liquor store with his friends. He believes that the investment will solve the family’s financial problems forever. Beneatha, Walter’s sister and Mama’s daughter, wants to use the money for her medical school tuition. Ruth, Walter’s wife, discovers that she is pregnant, but
During the 1900s many black families barely had enough money to pay for the basic necessities needed to live. At times some families would receive a significant sum of money, something they were not used to getting. Deciding on how to spend this money is what caused problems among some families. In the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, she argues that there are times when in a state of financial instability and where money is a necessity to completing one’s dream that some family members choose to put their dreams over others when suddenly given the opportunity. After Mama’s husband died she was bound to receive an insurance check that would be used by the Younger family. Before even receiving the
Exposition : The Younger family has recently lost their head of the family, Mama’s husband, and are going to be given 10,000$ from their insurance. They are an African American family in the working class that lives on the South side of Chicago and struggling with financial difficulties.
A Raisin in the Sun is a Move about dreams. The movie starts off in south side Chicago, evolving around a time period where racism was still common. The genre of the film is known as drama, and is based upon the Younger family. They receive a check from the death of the father in the story. The main characters’ struggle to deal with society, or in other words the “man.” The Younger family all have dreams that they wish to fulfil, and the ten-thousand-dollar check is the ticket to their dreams. There are many roles in the characters in the movie, for example gender. Walter feels that he’s supposed to be the man of the family. Once again, their race inhibits them from accomplishing their dreams.
Economic and societal poverty are the key forms of poverty highlighted in the three-act play, A Raisin in the Sun. Lorraine Hansberry, the playwright, discusses the hardships of African-Americans attempting to emerge in society in the 1950’s. The play is staged in ways where the audience can grasp the trifles of an African-American family continuously experiencing setbacks whilst attempting to achieve their notion of the “American Dream”. To Walter Lee Younger, his idea of the “American Dream” is that anything is possible for those who have money. Unfortunately, there is a minor problem: Walter Lee Younger is a working-class African-American man who struggles to make ends meet in the Southside of Chicago, Illinois. The family undergoes
The play by Lorraine Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun, presents an African-American family living in poverty in the 1950’s. The family receives ten thousand dollars from deceased Mr. Younger’s insurance; the money is supposed to be distributed in buying a house, Beneatha’s education, and Walter’s liquor store investment. However, Walter invests wrongly and loses more than half of the money, forcing Beneatha to consider moving to Africa to pursue an education. Beneatha Younger’s struggle with segregation while pursuing her dream of becoming a doctor demonstrates that education can be obtained with determination and discipline.
“No amount of money will make you happy if you're not happy about yourself,” a self explanatory quote that explains money’s not truly people's happiness. Everyone thinks that if you're wealthy then it will solve all of your problems and you will live a very happy life. However, is not actually true. In a Raisin in the Sun, a play by Lorraine Hansberry, is about an African American family in the 1950s, who live in poverty, receive a check for 10,000 from Life Insurance. The check that could possibly change everyone's lives, was given after the death of Mr. Younger. Lena Younger, who everyone calls Mama, has two kids named Walter and Beneatha. Walter is married to Ruth Younger and they both have a child named travis. Walter Younger, a greedy,
“ A Raisin in the Sun” is a play written by Lorraine Hansberry about the life of an African American family during the era of segregation. The play starts off with the Younger family receiving a 10,000 dollar check from Mr. Younger’s insurance policy. The family argues over what they are going to do with it. Mama wants to buy a house with it, Walter wants to invest in a liquor store, and Beneatha wants to use the money to go to medical school. The contrast of the characters’ personalities fuels the conflict and drives the story forward. Beneatha is a young college student and the sister of Walter. She has a dream of becoming a doctor. Beneatha is a dynamic character who is easily influenced by her family and the people
Throughout American history, poverty has overwhelmed the inner cities, causing families to face everyday issues such as finances with regards to food, schooling, and extra activities or utilities. However, these circumstances can also test a family and push them to their breaking point. The topic of poverty is evident in Loraine Hansberry’s play that takes place in the late 1950s. As the play A Raisin in the Sun progresses, the characters develop as a whole, enhancing symbolism- specifically Mama’s plant- that represent the family.
Family is important to live a happy, healthy life. A poor, black family, the Youngers, live together in a small house in Chicago in the 1950s. Their main focus is not getting money, but staying together and loving each other. Lena, Walter's mother, is the head of the family and live out the moral of the importance of family. Throughout A Raisin in the Sun, Lena attempts to bring her plant back to life, which can be a symbol of the family struggling.
The play “A Raisin in the Sun” was written in 1959 by Lorraine Hansberry. This play is about a struggling black family in chicago during the 1950’s who has faced many hardships but gain some relief after receiving life insurance money from the deceased character Mr. Younger. The family formulates many ideas about what should be done with the money, some ideas being more selfish than others. But, mama makes the final decision to buy a house in an all white neighborhood so the family can move out of their apartment and start a better life,which has been a dream for the family. But, these plans are almost destroyed when her son Walter Lee loses most of the money to his friend who he thought was going to start a liquor store with him.
cost?” (36). “Who the hell told you that you had to be a doctor? If